Suit hanger



Dec. 25, 1956 s MCLEA 2,775,378

SUIT HANGER Filed May 27, 1954 '//////////////m u '////////////////A INVENTOR.

United States Patent SUIT HANGER Philip s. McLean, Bloomfield, N. J.

Application May 27, 1954, Serial No. 432,742 3 Claims. (21.223-91 The invention herein disclosed is a suit hanger of the type covered in copending patent application Serial No. 275,324, filed March 7, 1952, Patent No. 2,681,755 of June 22, 1954.

Objects of the invention are to improve and perfect hangers of this type, particularly in respect to simplification, handling and use of the device.

To these ends the improved hanger is made up of just two main parts, a hanger arch with shoulder forms, having a trousers supporting bar extending from and carried by one shoulder form but left separated from the other shoulder form, and a garment clamping bar overriding the supporting bar slidingly guided for free vertical movement in the hanger arch and having hand grip means by which fingers of the hand carrying the hanger may be used either to lift the clamp bar or to apply pressure for gripping a garment on the supporting bar.

Special objects of the invention are to enable the hanger to be used either for supporting trousers or other garment looped over the supporting bar or to enable a garment such as trousers or skirt to be hung by cufis or waistband.

The latter results are accomplished by splitting the supporting bar in two spaced parts, adapted to have the trousers or skirt slipped therebetween.

Other novel features of the invention and further desirable objects attained are set forth and will appear in the course of the following specification.

The drawing accompanying and forming part of the specification illustrates a present practical embodiment of the invention. Structure, however, may be modified and changed as regards the immediate illustration, all

within the true intent and scope ofthe invention as hereinafter defined and claimed.

Fig. 1 in the drawing is a broken perspective view showing how the hanger may be held in one hand and the fingers of that hand be used to hold the loose clamp downward pressing against a folded garment slipped into position over the supporting bar;

Fig. 2 is a front elevation of the hanger with broken lines showing how the loose clamp is slidingly guided in the hanger arch;

Fig. 3 is a top plan view of the hanger;

Fig. 4 is a horizontal sectional view on the plane of line 4-4 of Fig. 2; i

Fig. 5 is an enlarged vertical sectional view on substantially the plane of line 5-5 of Fig. 2;

Fig. 6 is a central vertical sectional view showing a garment looped over the split hanger bar and the handle clamp resting on the garment;

Fig. 7 is a similar view showing how trousers may be hung by the cuifs by inserting them in the slot in the supporting bar and letting the clamp bar act as a separating holder between the culfs.

Figs. 1 and 2 show the arch or how 9 of the hanger as terminating at opposite sides in shoulder forms 10 and 11, and the latter as having a downward elbow extension 12 carrying closely spaced, horizontal trouser support bars 13, 14.

Bars 13, 14 constitute a common support for a looped garment such as trousers 15 slipped edgewise thereover, the gap at 16 between shoulder form 10 and free ends of these bars enabling this convenient sidewise engage ment of garment over such bars. i I

To hold the garment against slipping edgewise over: the bars, a clamp bar 17 is provided'having upwardextensions 18 at opposite ends of the same slidingly guided.

in vertical slots 19 in the shoulderform'sr g This clamp element may be a relatively thin bar'such as indicated in Figs. 5, 6 and 7, possibly widenedand' rounded at the lower edge as at 20 to grip the trousers or other garment without creasing the material. As shown, the clamp bar bridges the'slot between the spaced supporting bars 13, 14, thus to effect 'a double extensions in the shoulder forms can be so narrow as not to be noticed and not to weaken the arch construction.

Convenient and easy lifting of the clamp bar 17 is accomplished in the illustration by providing the central portion of this bar with a hand grip recess 21 which can be reached by the last three or four fingers of the hand grasping the arch of the hanger.

Another important feature 'of the loose clamp bar is that the upper edge portion 22 of the same is spaced below the underside of the arch far enough for the fingers of the supporting hand to reach in over the top of the same to press the bar downward on the supported garment, substantially as indicated in Fig. 1.

Thus, after trousers or other garment has been slipped over the supporting bar, the clamp may be pressed downward to hold the garment against slipping while the hanger is being manipulated to place it within the shoulshoulder forms.

This ability to hold the clamp bar down on the horizontally supported lower garment is of advantage when taking ofi a coat or other upper garment supported on the shoulder forms.

While the loose clamp bar may have enough weight to lightly grip and hold a folded garment on the horizontal supporting bar, this grip may be light enough to permit the garment being drawn off over the open end of the supporting bar.

The two parts of the hanger may be made of wood, plastics or other such light and strong materials. These materials also are sufliciently flexible to enable the twin bars 13, 14 to be bent sideways suflicientlyfor locating the clamp bar and engaging the upper extensions 18 in the guide openings 19. This same flexibility enables the clamp bar to be easily and quickly removed from the hanger if so desired. This may be the case when trousers are to be hung from the cuifs, as indicated in Fig. 7, which shows how in such case the cutfs 23 may be allowed to fold outward and drop down over the outer sides of bars 13, 14, where they will ordinarily hold without the weight of the clamp bar 17. i

The open-ended structure enables the hanger tobe Patented Dec. 25, 19 56 Whatis'claimedis':

1. A suit hanger comprising a hanger arch having shoulder forms at opposite ends and a supporting bar extending horizontally from the lower outer end of one shoulder torn toward but terminating short of the lower outer end of the other shoulder form, providing a gap at that side-of the hanger through which a folded garmerit m ay beslipped edgewise over the end of said bar iinto fully supported position on the bar, and'a clamp bar looselyconfi-nedbeneath the hanger arch, in position to res't on a garment on said supporting bar, said clamp bar having thin, flat, elongated upward extensions at opposite ends of thesame and the shoulder forms of the arch having narrow vertical slots therein elongated and inline'with the ends of said clamp bar and in which said upward extensions are loosely guided, the intermediate loweredge'portion of said clamp bar beingrelieved upwardly to admit the-fingers of a hand gripping the hanger arch, andthe 'upper edge ofthe clamp bar being spaced below the: underside of the arch and clear of obstructions so as to admit the fingers of a hand over the top of the clam bar for pressing said clamp bar downwardly against a garment on the supporting bar.

2. A hanger according to claim 1, in which said supporting bar is composed of two parts separated by a slot through which a garment may be inserted and in which the lower edge of the clamp bar bridges said slot to thereby clamp a garment inserted through said gap onto said supporting bar along. two relatively separated lines of contact.

3. A hanger according to claim 1, and made of material sufliciently flexible for the supporting bar to be bent laterally enough for the upward extensions on the ends of the clamp bar to be engaged in and disengaged from said slots in the hanger arch.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS 2,192,167 Bagley et al. l Mar. 5, 1940 2,426,292 Appleman -r Aug. 26, 1947 2,478,297 McG'irr u- Au 9, 1949 2,490,475 Rosenberg Dec. 6, 1949 

